Your car alarm is one of the essential parts of your vehicle, because they help protect it from thieves or vandals looking to steal your car.
However, car alarms can sometimes go off automatically or even in the middle of the night, which can be irritating and cause sudden panic. When the alarm systems go off, do they stop on their own? If you’d like to find out, keep reading to see what I learned!
Do Car Alarms Stop On Their Own?
Once your alarm is triggered, it could go for about 20 minutes depending on the alarm settings and stop on its own. When it goes off, it produces a loud noise for about 15-30 seconds and then goes silent for a few minutes before going off again. However, if your alarm has issues, it will not stop on its own.
For more information about car alarms, how long they take to go off, what causes the alarm to go off randomly, and more, keep reading for more facts!
How Long Will A Car Alarm Go Off Until It Stops On Its Own?
In previous years, car alarms could go off all day without stopping until the owner shuts off the system. However, the systems have evolved over time and are now shutting off much quicker.
Typically, the alarm could keep going for 20 minutes, with 15-30 seconds of loud noise and about 5 minutes of silence, and then it goes off again.
Car alarms go off when they sense an intrusion that’s more than its normal threshold. These alarms are designed with different levels of sensitivities, therefore, some might take longer to stop ringing.
On the other hand, most cities have laws requiring car and home alarms to automatically shut off after a certain amount of time. Therefore, in this case, the car owner must set the alarm within the specified time, and it will stop on its own.
In addition, the car alarm will stop on its own depending on the model and make of the vehicle. Some systems are designed to continue operating even after the battery is drained to prevent car theft, meaning this might continue for longer.
How Do Car Alarms Go Off?
Car alarms have sensors that get triggered by motion or movement around the vehicle. They have a computer, a radio receiver, a siren, and other sensors.
Your car has different types of sensors, including door, microphone, impact, tilt, and proximity sensors which get activated when there’s activity around your vehicle.
Once these sensors are triggered, the alarm goes off until it stops on its own, depending on the settings on your vehicle.
How Do You Turn Off a Car Alarm Without the Key?
If your alarm is not stopping on its own, you can use the key fob alarm button to switch it off. However, if this doesn’t work, here are some methods you can use to stop the loud sound:
1. Check the Vehicle’s Manual
Before attempting any of these methods, check the owner’s manual for ideas on how to switch off the alarm.
2. Turn the Car On
If the key fob isn’t working, turn on the ignition to start your car and stop the alarm.
3. Lock and Unlock Your Doors
You can also get into your car and lock the doors with the physical key if you have electric doors, which should turn the alarm off.
4. Disconnect the Fuse
Check the owner’s manual for the fuse location and disconnect it to cut off power to the alarm, especially if you don’t know your way around the vehicle’s wiring.
5. Reset the Alarm System
Your manual should also have information about resetting your alarm system, which should automatically turn it off.
6. Disconnect the Battery
You can disconnect the primary and backup car battery when all these processes fail. However, you should only do this if you understand how to safely remove this device to avoid any problems.
Once you remove the battery, the alarm will turn off, and then you can re-establish the connection to power up your vehicle.
How Do I Disable My Neighbor’s Car Alarm?
On some occasions, your car might not be the problem, but rather your neighbors. So how can you disable your neighbor’s alarm, or what should you do when it becomes a nuisance?
Without access to the car and its features, you can’t turn off the alarm, but you can take some steps to stop this problem.
If your neighbor’s car alarm keeps going off at night, you need to talk to them to adjust the sensitivity of their siren. This way, the sensors won’t be triggered easily.
On the other hand, if you live in a city with ordinances that require a car and home alarms to shut off after a specified period (usually about five to ten minutes), you can contact the local law enforcement agencies for guidance on what should be done.
If the issue continues, however, your neighbors could get fined or even sued for disturbing the peace or public nuisance.
Does a Car Alarm Drain the Battery?
If an alarm keeps going off for extended periods, most drivers wonder whether the alarm will drain the battery. Car alarms require power, whether on standby or triggered, therefore, they will use up your battery power over time.
However, batteries from the manufacturer don’t consume much power compared to the aftermarket ones. In addition, when the alarm is on standby, it consumes less energy than when the siren is activated.
Once the alarm is triggered, it could drain the battery faster or slower depending on the features activated, battery capacity, and the number of times the alarm goes off.
If the alarm doesn’t stop on its own according to the set times, the battery will drain, and your car won’t ignite when you turn the ignition key on. However, some car models are designed with alarms that still function even after the battery has drained to prevent theft.
Do Car Alarms Go Off if the Window is Broken?
Ideally, most car windows are not connected to alarm sensors, therefore, the alarm doesn’t get triggered when glass is shattered.
For most cars, you must open the door for the alarm to go off. Because of this, most car vandalism and theft happen when the thieves break the glass.
To know more about car alarms, you can also see our posts on how much is a car alarm, Avital car alarm reset, and what triggers a car alarm.
Conclusion
Car alarms go off on their own after a specified period, and while older models could go off for the whole day until the owner turns them off, the current ones can turn off after 20 minutes. Vehicle owners can also set their own alarm systems settings, determining how long the alarm goes off and what triggers it.